Mets Shut Out Threshers Sunday Afternoon

The Clearwater Threshers lost a tough one to the St. Lucie Mets on Saturday night with the bullpen giving up three runs in the last two innings after a terrific seven innings of work from Starter Yohan Flande who had surrendered just one run on four hits. The team was looking for a little revenge for that loss on Sunday afternoon.

Julian Sampson got the start for the Threshers on Sunday, and got into some trouble in the first inning. He gave up a hit to start the game but induced a double play for two outs, unfortunately after two more hits and a walk the bases were loaded with two outs. Fortunately a line drive to Cody Overbeck at third got Sampson out of the inning, and onto the second inning with no damage.

With the offense unable to get anything done again in the top of the second inning Sampson hit the mound in the second inning looking to get on track. The Mets were not ready to let that happen however as they tagged hom for a leadoff double to start their half of the second inning. A fielder’s choice and a base hit later, the Mets would once again have the bases loaded. This time with no outs, and they took advantage of their good fortune picking up two runs before the inning was over for an early 2-0 lead.

The third inning proved no kinder to the Threshers as the Mets touched up Sampson for a two-run blast to extend their lead to 4-0 after three.

Finally in the fourth inning the Threshers were able to get their first hit of the game when Matt Rizzotti hit a double, but he was left stranded, and the Mets came to bat once again. This time however Julian Sampson would not take the mound as he was replaced by Manny Ayala on the rubber. Quickly the Mets touched up Ayala for a hit with a leadoff single the begin their half of the fourth. Ayala was able to get two Ks and make a nice play covering first though, and like Sampson before him he got out of his first inning of work giving up nothing on the scoreboard to the Mets.

Ayala could not get through another frame without a run however as the Mets got their fifth run of the game off of him in the fifth inning, and things began to look bleak for the Threshers down 5-0 with just two hits on the board going into the sixth inning of the afternoon.

Dominic Brown got the Threshers third hit of the game, and his first in the sixth, but nothing else became of the offense. Meanwhile the bottom of the fram would see the Threshers use their third pitcher of the afternoon with Walter Tejeda taking the mound. Tejeda gave up one hit, but no runs and like the first two pitchers survived his first inning cleanly on the scoreboard.

The Mets would add a run against Tejeda in the seventh inning however making him the third Threshers hurler to surrender a run, and that would Bring Chris Kissock in from the pen for the eighth inning hoping to salvage anything out of this game for the Threshers.

Kissock would allow the Mets to load the bases for the third time in the game, but escaped the inning with no runs across the plate sending the Threshers to the ninth needing a grand slam-and-a-half (or a crap-load of singles) to get back into the game.

It was not meant to be for the sharks however as they suffered a shutout going down 6-0 in the end.

The SCHMIDT LIST player of the game award went unclaimed to end the month for the Threshers.